Anterior Frontal Regions Research Articles

Unconsciously triggered cognitive conflict influences perceptual choice in active and sedentary individuals.

People who regularly exercise and receive training perform better when actioning unconscious cognitive tasks. The information flow triggered by a single unconscious visual stimulus has been extensively investigated, but it remains unclear whether multiple unconscious visual stimuli interact. This study aimed to explore the relationship between three simultaneous subliminal arrow stimuli (pointing in same or different directions), focusing on how they interact with each other and the subsequent priming effect on the target arrow in active and sedentary groups. We used a priming paradigm combining flanker task to test the hypothesis. A total of 42 participants were recruited. Of these, 22 constituted the active group and 20 constituted the sedentary group. Behavioral data results revealed that the main effects of group and prime-target compatibility were significant. In the neurophysiological data, prime-target compatibility significantly influenced the latency of PP1. The amplitude of TP1 and TN2 mainly influenced the prime-flanker congruency. The prime-flanker congruency and groups interacted when the prime-target showed sufficient compatibility. The prime-flanker congruency, and the prime-target compatibility considerably influenced the TP3 amplitude in the anterior central frontal region (CZ electrode point). Event-related potentials revealed the interactions between conscious processing and subliminal conflict in the early stages of perceptual and attention processing (target-related P1 potential component). These results suggest that exercise is helpful for coping with unconscious cognitive conflict.

TMS provokes target-dependent intracranial rhythms across human cortical and subcortical sites

BackgroundTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is believed to alter ongoing neural activity and cause circuit-level changes in brain function. While the electrophysiological effects of TMS have been extensively studied with scalp electroencephalography (EEG), this approach generally evaluates low-frequency neural activity at the cortical surface. However, TMS can be safely used in patients with intracranial electrodes (iEEG), allowing for direct assessment of deeper and more localized oscillatory responses across the frequency spectrum. Objective/HypothesisOur study used iEEG to understand the effects of TMS on human neural activity in the spectral domain. We asked (1) which brain regions respond to cortically-targeted TMS, and in what frequency bands, (2) whether deeper brain structures exhibit oscillatory responses, and (3) whether the neural responses to TMS reflect evoked versus induced oscillations. MethodsWe recruited 17 neurosurgical patients with indwelling electrodes and recorded neural activity while patients underwent repeated trials of single-pulse TMS at either the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or parietal cortex. iEEG signals were analyzed using spectral methods to understand the oscillatory responses to TMS. ResultsStimulation to DLPFC drove widespread low-frequency increases (3–8 Hz) in frontolimbic cortices and high-frequency decreases (30–110 Hz) in frontotemporal areas, including the hippocampus. Stimulation to parietal cortex specifically provoked low-frequency responses in the medial temporal lobe. While most low-frequency activity was consistent with phase-locked evoked responses, anterior frontal regions exhibited induced theta oscillations following DLPFC stimulation. ConclusionsBy combining TMS with intracranial EEG recordings, our results suggest that TMS is an effective means to perturb oscillatory neural activity in brain-wide networks, including deeper structures not directly accessed by stimulation itself.

Decisional brain of lawyers at the workplace. A neurolaw pilot study

Decisional brain of lawyers at the workplace. A neurolaw pilot study

Calming effect of Clinically Designed Improvisatory Music for patients admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study.

Epilepsy monitoring requires simulating seizure-inducing conditions which frequently causes discomfort to epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) patients. COVID-19 hospital restrictions added another layer of stress during hospital admissions. The purpose of this pilot study was to provide evidence that live virtual Clinically Designed Improvisatory Music (CDIM) brings relief to EMU patients for their psychological distress. Five persons with epilepsy (PWEs) in the EMU during the COVID-19 lockdown participated in the study (average age ± SD = 30.2 ± 6 years). Continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (EKG) were obtained before, during, and after live virtual CDIM. CDIM consisted of 40 minutes of calming music played by a certified clinical music practitioner (CMP) on viola. Post-intervention surveys assessed patients' emotional state on a 1-10 Likert scale. Alpha/beta power spectral density ratio was calculated for each subject across the brain and was evaluated using one-way repeated analysis of variance, comparing 20 minutes before, during, and 20 minutes after CDIM. Post-hoc analysis was performed using paired t-test at the whole brain level and regions with peak changes. Patients reported enhanced emotional state (9 ± 1.26), decrease in tension (9.6 ± 0.49), decreased restlessness (8.6 ± 0.80), increased pleasure (9.2 ± 0.98), and likelihood to recommend (10 ± 0) on a 10-point Likert scale. Based on one-way repeated analysis of variance, alpha/beta ratio increased at whole-brain analysis (F3,12 = 5.01, P = 0.018) with a peak in midline (F3,12 = 6.63, P = 0.0068 for Cz) and anterior medial frontal region (F3,12 = 6.45, P = 0.0076 for Fz) during CDIM and showed a trend to remain increased post-intervention. In this pilot study, we found positive effects of CDIM as reported by patients, and an increased alpha/beta ratio with meaningful electroencephalographic correlates due to the calming effects in response to CDIM. Our study provides proof of concept that live virtual CDIM offered demonstrable comfort with biologic correlations for patients admitted in the EMU during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gender-related Characteristics of Oxidative Stress Severity and Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Schizophrenia.

The gender specificity of the clinical and psychopathological features of schizophrenia is an important factor in this disease. Gender features of neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia and associated functional and structural disorders of the brain activity are of particular interest to researchers. There are several potential pathogenetic factors of this disease associated with gender, one of which is considered to be oxidative stress. Stress-induced cell death in the prefrontal and anterior frontal regions and reduced brain volume in these regions lead to cognitive and executive decline in patients with schizophrenia. Despite the great interest in the gender factor in schizophrenia pathogenesis, there are currently very few studies on gender differences in the severity of redox imbalance in patients with schizophrenia and their association with neurocognitive deficit.The aim of the study was to reveal the gender specificity of oxidative stress severity in patients with schizophrenia and assess its association with the severity of neurocognitive deficit.The study included 125 patients with schizophrenia and 75 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers. Sociodemographic and clinical data were studied. Cognitive functions were evaluated using BACS. Blood samples were taken for biochemical studies of the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) in erythrocyte hemolysate, malonic dialdehyde (MDA), aldehyde-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones (ADNPH), ketone-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones (KDNPH) in plasma. Levels of oxidative stress markers were assessed by spectrophotometric method.In a sample of patients with schizophrenia, a statistically significantly higher activity of CAT was revealed among women compared to men (T=2.25; p=0.025), however, it was lower than in healthy volunteers. But, at the same time, a higher concentration of protein peroxidation products was found in the peripheral blood of women than in men (ADNPH MCO: T=2.52; p=0.013; KDNPH MCO: Z=-2.26; p=0.017). In the group of healthy volunteers, in contrast to patients with schizophrenia, gender differences in markers of oxidative stress were not found. In women with schizophrenia, single correlations were found between the level of the lipid peroxidation product MDA and the test scores for verbal memory (R=-0.36; p=0.006) and working memory (R=-0.36; p=0.006), antioxidant enzyme activity SOD and motor skills (R=-0.26; p=0.047). In men, on the contrary, multiple correlations of both antioxidants and, mainly, products of lipid and protein peroxidation with cognitive functions assessed using BACS were found.Despite the fact that oxidative stress is more pronounced in women than in men with schizophrenia, associations of redox imbalance with neurocognitive deficit in women is much less pronounced than in men.

Variational Phase-Amplitude Coupling Characterizes Signatures of Anterior Cortex under Emotional Processing.

Emotion, an essential aspect in inferring human psychological states, is featured by entangled oscillators operating at multiple frequencies and montages. However, the dynamics of mutual interactions among rhythmic activities in EEGs under various emotional expressions are unclear. To this end, a novel method named variational phase-amplitude coupling is proposed to quantify the rhythmic nesting structure in EEGs under emotional processing. The proposed algorithm lies in variational mode decomposition, featured by its robustness to noise artifacts and its merit in avoiding the mode-mixing problem. This novel method reduces the risk of spurious coupling compared to that with ensemble empirical mode decomposition or iterative filter when evaluated by simulations. An atlas of cross-couplings in EEGs under eight emotional processing is established. Mainly, α activity in the anterior frontal region serves as a critical sign for neutral emotional state, whereas γ amplitude seems to be linked with both positive and negative emotional states. Moreover, for those γ-amplitude-related couplings under neutral emotional state, the frontal lobe is associated with lower phase-given frequencies while the central lobe is attached to higher ones. The γ-amplitude-related coupling in EEGs is a promising biomarker for recognizing mental states. We recommend our method as an effective tool in characterizing the entangled multifrequency rhythms in brain signals for emotion neuromodulation.

Modulations of right hemisphere connectivity in young children relates to the perception of spoken words

The early school years shape a young brain's capability to comprehend and contextualize words within milliseconds of exposure. Parsing word sounds (phonological interpretation) and word recognition (enabling semantic interpretation) are integral to this process. Yet little is known about the causal mechanisms of cortical activity during these early developmental stages. In this study, we aimed to explore these causal mechanisms via dynamic causal modelling of event-related potentials (ERPs) acquired from 30 typically developing children (ages 6–8 years) as they completed a spoken word-picture matching task. Source reconstruction of high-density electroencephalography (128 channels) was used to ascertain differences in whole-brain cortical activity during semantically “congruent” and “incongruent” conditions. Source activations analyzed during the N400 ERP window identified significant regions-of-interest (pFWE<.05) localized primarily in the right hemisphere when contrasting congruent and incongruent word-picture stimuli. Dynamic causal models (DCMs) were tested on source activations in the fusiform gyrus (rFusi), inferior parietal lobule (rIPL), inferior temporal gyrus (rITG) and superior frontal gyrus (rSFG). DCM results indicated that a fully connected bidirectional model with self-(inhibiting) connections over rFusi, rIPL and rSFG provided the highest model evidence, based on exceedance probabilities derived from Bayesian statistical inferences. Connectivity parameters of rITG and rSFG regions from the winning DCM were negatively correlated with behavioural measures of receptive vocabulary and phonological memory (pFDR<.05), such that lower scores on these assessments corresponded with increased connectivity between temporal pole and anterior frontal regions. The findings suggest that children with lower language processing skills required increased recruitment of right hemisphere frontal/temporal areas during task performance.

An increase in the auditory steady-state response amplitudes after a period of listening to binaural beat stimuli in tinnitus patients: a pilot study

BackgroundTinnitus impact on persons’ lifestyle, function, and emotion is of significant importance that has been the leader for conducting an increasing amount of research in the field of tinnitus pathophysiology, assessment, and management. Binaural beats (BB) are one of acoustic neuromodulation approaches used in psychological disorders, such as distress and anxiety. Thus, we hypothesized that binaural beat could be helpful in the relief of tinnitus distress and annoyance.MethodsSeventeen chronic tinnitus subjects participated in this quasi-experimental (quantitative research) study. In this study, the effect of binaural beat stimuli was evaluated subjectively using the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores, the visual analog scale for loudness and annoyance (VAS_L, VAS_A), and objectively by the 40-Hz ASSR after 1 month of listening to binaural beats, and the correlation between these two assessments was evaluated.ResultsAfter 1 month of binaural beat stimuli listening, all of the subjective findings were significantly improved, and the amplitude of 40-Hz ASSR was increased in the right auditory and anterior frontal regions at 2000-Hz carrier frequency. Besides, there was a high correlation between the decreasing of the subjective scores with the rising of the amplitude of 40-Hz ASSR.ConclusionThe use of binaural beat as an acoustic neuromodulation method for tinnitus management may be recommended according to the current study findings. However, more investigations on the effectiveness supported by data from controlled clinical trials and more correlations with ASSR alteration are highly suggested.

Laughter isn’t always the best medicine, sometimes it’s one of the symptoms

Gelastic seizure is a rare type of seizure characterized by bouts of uncontrolled, stereotyped laughter and often associated with hypothalamic hamartomas. In this case study we review a patient with a low grade ganglioglioma in the temporal lobe, a rare type of brain tumor that commonly causes seizures. The 8-year-old ambidextrous patient presented with seizures starting four days prior to presentation, happening multiple times daily and with each seizure lasting for 5–15 s. The patient’s neurological examination was normal between episodes, and VEEG recorded ictal laughing events originating focally from the anterior temporal and/or inferior frontal region. Seizures were stopped with Levetiracetam, however given MRI findings surgical intervention was additionally deemed necessary. MRI head with contrast showed 8 mm nodular enhancing lesion located in the anteroventral portion of the right temporal pole with surrounding edema that extended to the anterior margin of the fusiform gyrus. The patient recovered well from surgery with no neurological deficits, is no longer on any antiseizure medications and remains seizure free at 3-year follow-up.

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and their impact on oxidative stress

The article is devoted to modern concepts of cognitive disorders in schizophrenia. Neurocognitive deficits can be expressed in impaired attention, auditory memory, motor skills, working memory, processing speed and executive function. The attention of researchers is currently being paid to the violation of the speed of information processing and character encoding that can lead to impaired social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Two hypotheses about the dynamics of neurocognitive impairments in schizophrenia are also considered: the theory of «static encephalopathy» and progressive impairment of cognitive functions.This review evaluates the results of a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of first and second generation antipsychotics in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction. As a result of the analysis of the available data, it was concluded that first-generation antipsychotics most likely do not directly impair cognitive abilities, but they can do so indirectly, due to the simultaneous use of anticholinergic drugs that compromise some neurocognitive abilities. Second-generation antipsychotics have an advantage over first-generation drugs, however, it has been argued that most antipsychotics lead to a slight improvement in cognitive functioning, and there is no specific effect on its specific domains.An analysis of data on the relationship between oxidative stress markers and psychopathological characteristics and cognitive profile of patients with schizophrenia was carried out. In particular, the mechanism of stress-induced cell death in the prefrontal and anterior frontal regions and a decrease in brain volume in these regions, leading to a decrease in cognitive and executive functions, are considered. In addition, the mechanisms of association of redox imbalance with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) depletion, hypofunction of the NMDA receptor, changes in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, neurogenesis, and cell apoptosis were considered.

Anterior ethmoid and frontal sinus drainage pathways: five patterns formed and defined by their bony walls

PurposeTo perform endoscopic sinus surgery safely and effectively, surgeons need to visualize the complex anatomy of the anterior ethmoid and frontal sinus region. Because this anatomy is so variable and individualized, the foundation of understanding lies in identifying, following, and visualizing the drainage pathway patterns and anticipating possible variations.MethodsWe studied 100 sides (50 cases: 22 male, 28 female, aged 12–86, average age 46.5 years, ± 19.5) using computed tomography (CT) and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) to identify and classify the drainage pathways leading to the frontal sinus and anterior ethmoidal cells.ResultsAnalysis revealed five patterns of drainage pathways defined by their bony walls: between the uncinate process and the lamina papyracea [UP–LP]; between the uncinate process and the middle turbinate [UP–MT]; between the uncinate process and the accessory uncinate process [UP–UPa]; between the uncinate process and the basal lamella of the ethmoidal bulla [UP–BLEB]; and between the basal lamella of the ethmoidal bulla and the basal lamella of the middle turbinate [BLEB–BLMT]. In most cases, BLEB formed the posterior wall of the drainage pathway of the frontal sinus, indicating BLEB could be one of the most important landmarks for approaching the frontal sinus.ConclusionsAs endoscopic sinus surgery depends on an understanding of this anatomy, this study may help surgeons to identify and follow the drainage pathways more accurately and safely through the anterior ethmoid to the frontal sinus.

The Wernicke conundrum revisited: evidence from connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping.

Wernicke's area has been assumed since the 1800s to be the primary region supporting word and sentence comprehension. However, in 2015 and 2019, Mesulam and colleagues raised what they termed the 'Wernicke conundrum', noting widespread variability in the anatomical definition of this area and presenting data from primary progressive aphasia that challenged this classical assumption. To resolve the conundrum, they posited a 'double disconnection' hypothesis: that word and sentence comprehension deficits in stroke-based aphasia result from disconnection of anterior temporal and inferior frontal regions from other parts of the brain due to white matter damage, rather than dysfunction of Wernicke's area itself. To test this hypothesis, we performed lesion-deficit correlations, including connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping, in four large, partially overlapping groups of English-speaking chronic left hemisphere stroke survivors. After removing variance due to object recognition and associative semantic processing, the same middle and posterior temporal lobe regions were implicated in both word comprehension deficits and complex non-canonical sentence comprehension deficits. Connectome lesion-symptom mapping revealed similar temporal-occipital white matter disconnections for impaired word and non-canonical sentence comprehension, including the temporal pole. We found an additional significant temporal-parietal disconnection for non-canonical sentence comprehension deficits, which may indicate a role for phonological working memory in processing complex syntax, but no significant frontal disconnections. Moreover, damage to these middle-posterior temporal lobe regions was associated with both word and non-canonical sentence comprehension deficits even when accounting for variance due to the strongest anterior temporal and inferior frontal white matter disconnections, respectively. Our results largely agree with the classical notion that Wernicke's area, defined here as middle superior temporal gyrus and middle-posterior superior temporal sulcus, supports both word and sentence comprehension, suggest a supporting role for temporal pole in both word and sentence comprehension, and speak against the hypothesis that comprehension deficits in Wernicke's aphasia result from double disconnection.

Association of Cardiovascular Risk Markers and Fitness with Task-Related Neural Activity during Animacy Perception.

ABSTRACTPurposeNumerous studies have demonstrated the association between cardiovascular risk markers and fitness, and broad aspects of cognition; however, the possible association of cardiovascular risk markers and fitness with social cognition, which plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of social relationships, has largely been ignored. Herein, we investigated the relationship of cardiovascular risk markers and fitness with task-related neural activity during animacy perception.MethodsWe analyzed data from the Human Connectome Project derived from 1027 adults age 22–37 yr. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was conducted to evaluate the association between participants’ body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, submaximal endurance, gait speed, hand dexterity, and muscular strength with task-related neural activity during animacy perception.ResultsWe observed a single significant CCA mode. Body mass index and blood pressure demonstrated negative cross-loadings with task-related neural activity in the temporoparietal, superior and anterior temporal, posterior cingulate, and inferior frontal regions, whereas submaximal endurance, hand dexterity, and muscular strength demonstrated positive cross-loadings. The observed CCA variates did not seem highly heritable, as the absolute differences in CCA variates in monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, and nontwin siblings were not statistically different. Furthermore, the cardiovascular risk markers and fitness CCA variates were positively associated with animacy perception and emotion recognition accuracy, which was mediated by the task-related neural activity.ConclusionsThe present findings can provide new insights into the role of markers for cardiovascular health and fitness, specifically their association with social cognition and the underlying neural basis. The intervention for cardiovascular risk and fitness could be a potentially cost-effective method of targeting social cognition.

Imaging measures of molecular pathology and neurodegeneration in dominantly‐inherited and sporadic early‐onset Alzheimer’s Disease

AbstractBackgroundApproximately 5% of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) develop symptoms before age 65, with this early‐onset presentation attributed to either sporadic (sEOAD) or dominantly‐inherited (DIAD) etiology. Both sEOAD and DIAD are characterized by brain amyloid‐beta (Aβ) accumulation and neurodegeneration, but differences in topography and magnitude of these pathological changes are not fully elucidated.MethodWe included 108 sEOAD Aβ‐PET positive cases from the UCSF Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (mean±standard deviation age 59.7±5.4 years) and 86 DIAD cases from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) study (age 45.5±9.5 years) with symptom onset before 65 years (see Table 1). All cases were symptomatic (clinical dementia rating [CDR] global ≥0.5) and underwent standard clinical and cognitive measures, 11C‐PiB‐PET (Aβ), 18F‐FDG‐PET (glucose metabolism) and structural MRI. PET scans were processed to obtain Standardized Uptake Value Ratio (SUVR, PIB50‐70, FDG30‐60) images. Warped PET SUVR and modulated, warped gray matter images were compared across the two cohorts with SPM12 after smoothing to ∼8mm3, covarying for age, CDR sum of boxes, years of education, APOE e4 status, and respective global biomarker score. A‐priori statistical threshold was set at p&lt;0.001 uncorrected, with a Family Wise Error p&lt;0.05 correction at the cluster‐level.ResultsEOAD participants were older, more educated, had greater cognitive impairment, had higher Aβ burden and were more likely to be APOE ε4 carriers (see Table 1). sEOAD participants exhibited higher relative PIB‐PET binding in anterior temporal and frontal (mostly white matter) regions, as well as lower relative FDG‐PET binding and sMRI‐based volumes in temporoparietal regions. DIAD participants showed higher relative PIB‐PET binding in the medial occipital, thalami, basal ganglia (caudate nuclei and putamen) and medial/dorsal frontal regions. DIAD participants showed lower relative FDG‐PET binding mostly in the frontal and parietal white matter (see Figure 1).ConclusionAβ pathology in DIAD was more likely to affect subcortical systems, whereas both Aβ pathology and neurodegeneration tended to be relatively more cortical and extensive in sEOAD. These results highlight EOAD heterogeneity and show that sporadic and inherited AD exhibit distinct regional vulnerabilities in neurodegeneration as well as differing topography and magnitude of biomarker abnormalities.

Functional Organization of Frontoparietal Cortex in the Marmoset Investigated with Awake Resting-State fMRI.

Frontoparietal networks contribute to complex cognitive functions in humans and macaques, such as working memory, attention, task-switching, response suppression, grasping, reaching, and eye movement control. However, there has been no comprehensive examination of the functional organization of frontoparietal networks using functional magnetic resonance imaging in the New World common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus), which is now widely recognized as a powerful nonhuman primate experimental animal. In this study, we employed hierarchical clustering of interareal blood oxygen level-dependent signals to investigate the hypothesis that the organization of the frontoparietal cortex in the marmoset follows the organizational principles of the macaque frontoparietal system. We found that the posterior part of the lateral frontal cortex (premotor regions) was functionally connected to the anterior parietal areas, while more anterior frontal regions (frontal eye field [FEF]) were connected to more posterior parietal areas (the region around the lateral intraparietal area [LIP]). These overarching patterns of interareal organization are consistent with a recent macaque study. These findings demonstrate parallel frontoparietal processing streams in marmosets and support the functional similarities of FEF-LIP and premotor-anterior parietal pathways between marmoset and macaque.

Asymmetry in Cortical and Subcortical Structures of the Brain in Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

BackgroundHuman cognitive and emotional functions are asymmetrical between the left and right hemispheres. In neuroimaging studies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients, the absence of aberrant asymmetry might serve as a neuroanatomical marker of ADHD. However, few studies have estimated abnormalities in cortical and subcortical asymmetry in children and adolescents of different ADHD subtypes.MethodsData were from the results collected by the Peking University site in the “ADHD-200 sample” dataset, which comprised 31 eligible ADHD (20 inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I), 11 combined ADHD (ADHD-C)) and 31 matched typically developing (TD) individuals. The Asymmetry Indexes (AIs) in cortical thickness, cortical gray-matter volume and subcortical nucleus (SN) volume were calculated based on an automated surface-based approach. The differences in cortical thickness, cortical gray-matter volume, and SN volume AIs were evaluated among groups. We also analyzed the correlation between AIs and the severity of ADHD symptoms.ResultsCompared with the TD group, SN asymmetry in ADHD group did not reveal significant differences. Altered cortical asymmetry of different subtypes in ADHD groups was located in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate circuits, including the medial orbitofrontal, paracentral, pars triangularis, caudal anterior cingulate, isthmus cingulate, and superior frontal regions. In the comparisons, cortical gray-matter volume AIs were significantly different in the caudal anterior cingulate, isthmus cingulate, and superior frontal regions between ADHD-I and ADHD-C groups. There were significant correlations between the severity of ADHD symptoms and asymmetric measurements in medial orbitofrontal, paracentral and isthmus cingulate regions.ConclusionThese findings provide further evidence for the altered cortical morphological asymmetry in children and adolescents with ADHD, and these differences are associated (at least in part) with the severity of ADHD symptoms. Brain asymmetry could be an appropriate precursor of morphological alterations in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Roles of the Default Mode and Multiple-Demand Networks in Naturalistic versus Symbolic Decisions.

The default mode network (DMN) is often associated with representing semantic, social, and situational content of contexts and episodes. The DMN may therefore be important for contextual decision-making, through representing situational constraints and simulating common courses of events. Most decision-making paradigms, however, use symbolic stimuli and instead implicate cognitive control regions, such as the multiple demand (MD) system. This fMRI study aimed to contrast the brain mechanisms underlying decision-making based on rich naturalistic contexts or symbolic cues. While performing an ongoing task, 40 human participants (25 female) responded to different sounds. For one sound, the stimulus-response mapping was fixed; responses for the other sounds depended on the visual context: either lifelike scenes or letter symbols, varying across participants. Despite minimal behavioral differences between the groups, posterior DMN regions showed increased activity during context-dependent decision-making using the naturalistic scenes only, compared with symbolic cues. More anterior temporal and frontal DMN regions showed a different pattern, with sensitivity to the need for contextual control, but not to the type of context. Furthermore, in the scenes group, widespread DMN regions showed stronger representation of not just the context but also the sound whose significance it modulated. In comparison, the MD system showed strong univariate activity for every decision, but, intriguingly, somewhat reduced activity in the case of a scene-based but demanding context-dependent decision. Depending on context, we suggest, either DMN or MD regions may play a prominent role in selection and control of appropriate behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Contextual knowledge is widely believed to be important for guiding real-world goal-directed behavior. Much remains to be understood, however, regarding the underlying brain mechanisms. Using a novel paradigm to contrast decisions based on richly meaningful naturalistic scenes with decisions based on symbolic cues, we find that both multiple demand regions and default mode regions may contribute to the cognitive control of behavior. Rich semantic context enhances representation not just of the context itself, but also of the contents of the decision that it controls. Dependence of a decision on naturalistic context can also reverse the common pattern of multiple demand regions responding more, and default mode regions responding less, to more difficult decisions.

CT FINDINGS OF AN ENDO-ORBITAL OSTEOMA PRODUCING PROPTOSIS AND THE OPTIC NERVE’S COMPRESSION

Osteoma is a benign bone tumour, with an incidence of 2% of all orbital tumours. Osteomas located in orbit remain asymptomatic until they reach a size that originates mass effect signs such as exophthalmos, diplopia, and unilateral blindness. Materials and methods. In this case, a male patient presented to the emergency room with progressive proptosis, worsening headaches, and swelling of the left anterior periorbital and frontal sinus region one year after the beginning of the symptoms. Results. Imaging studies revealed a hyperdense mass in the left orbital floor displacing the left globe superiorly and anteriorly with the optic nerve’s compression. Conclusion. Osteoma may represent an emergency in the long term when left untreated; it may destruct the eye due to direct pressure on the optic nerve and disturbance of the ocular blood supply.

Preshooting Electroencephalographic Activity of Professional Shooters in a Competitive State.

This study investigated the influence of competitive state on cerebral cortex activity of professional shooters with 10 m air rifle before shooting. Generally, professional athletes have higher neural efficiency compared with ordinary people. We recruited 11 national shooters to complete 60 shots under both noncompetitive and competitive shooting conditions, and simultaneously collected their electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) information. Theta, alpha, and beta power were computed in the last three seconds preceding each shot from average-reference 29-channel EEG, while EEG characteristics under two conditions were analyzed. The results showed a significant linear correlation between shooting accuracy and EEG power of anterior frontal, central, temporal, and occipital regions in beta and theta bands. In addition, the theta power in occipital regions, alpha power in frontal-central and left occipital regions, and beta power in frontal and mid-occipital regions were higher than those in noncompetitive state. However, heart rate (HR) and shooting accuracy did not change significantly under the two conditions. These findings reveal the changes of cortical activity underlying competition shooting as well as providing further understanding of the neural mechanisms of the shooting process and lay a foundation for the subsequent neuromodulation research.

Structural dysconnectivity in offspring of individuals with bipolar disorder: The effect of co-existing clinical-high-risk for bipolar disorder

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) might be associated in disturbances in brain networks. However, little is known about the abnormalities in structural brain connectivity which might be related to vulnerability to BD and predictive of the emergence of manic symptoms. No previous study has investigated the effect of subthreshold syndromes on structural dysconnectivity in offspring of parents with BD (BDoff). MethodsWe investigated diffusion weighted images of 70 BDoff and 48 healthy controls (HC). Nineteen of the 70 BDoff had presented with subthreshold syndromes indicating a clinical high-risk (BDoff-CHR) and other 51 BDoff had no such history (BDoff-non-CHR). Global and regional network properties, rich club organization and inter-regional connectivity in BDoff and healthy controls were investigated using graph analytical methods and network-based-statistics (NBS). ResultsGlobal properties of WM networks appeared to be intact in BDoff-CHR and BDoff-non-CHR. However, decreased regional connectivity in right occipito-parietal areas and cerebellum was a common feature of both BDoff groups. Importantly, decreased interregional connectivity between nodes in right and left prefrontal regions, nodes in right prefrontal lobe and right temporal lobe and nodes in left occipital area and left cerebellum were evident in BDoff-CHR but not BDoff-non-CHR. LimitationsThe cross-sectional nature of the study was the main consideration. ConclusionDecreased regional connectivity in right posterior brain regions might be related to vulnerability to BD. On the other hand, interregional dysconnectivity in anterior frontal and limbic regions and left posterior brain regions might be evident in individuals genetically at risk for developing BD who had experienced subthreshold mood symptoms.